Grip tester



June 25, 1929 I w DS V I 1,718,413

GRIP TESTER Filed Jan. 16, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l June 25, 1929. w, EDWARDS 1.7 18,413

GRIP TESTER Filed Jan. 16, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 25, 1929. w. K. EDWARDS GRIP TESTER 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan. 16, 1928 Patented June 25, 1929.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM K. EDWARDS, OF BIG SPRING, TEXAS.

GRIP TESTER.

Application filed January 16, 1928. Serial No. 247,017.

This invention relates to a grip tester ma chine by which the muscular strength of the hand and arm in gripping an object may be tested, and registered in pounds, so as to denote the force of such grip in the case of any individual person. In the preferred form of machine as herein illustrated the insertion of a coin is utilized to release certain locking mechanism, and permit free operation of the machine.

The invention as herein disclosed and claimed is an improvement upon that claimed in prior U. S. Letters Patent git-1,640,030, issued to me on August 23, 1927, and embodies certain variations of the mechanism of the patented machine, which have mainly for their objects the simplification of the parts, and the reliability of operation thereof. The invention will best be understood from the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, which illustrate a preferred form of the invention:

Fig. 1 is the side elevation of the machine as disclosed by the removal of one of the side panels;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 Fi 1' ig. 3 is a sectional plan view on the line 33 Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an inverted sectional plan view on the line 44 Fig. 5 and Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken substantially midway through the machine.

The machine has a casing 1, which preferably has a removable panel (not shown) in one or both sides for access to the. enclosed mechanism. A metal frame 5, having a base 5 which rests against the inside front face of the casing, supports the mechanism, the base being perforated to receive two tubular members 8 which project through apertures in the casing and base,-and are threaded at their inner ends to receive clamping nuts 9. The rear ends of tubular members 8 are joined by a bar 10, forming a fixed handle which may be grasped by the fingers of the hand during the grip-testing operation. A movable handle or bar 12 is provided with two parallel rods 14, received telescopically by and slidable freely within tubular members 8, the rods 14 projecting beyond the inner ends of said members within the casing 1, and throughaperturesinaflat bar 16,

to which latter they are clamped by nuts 17.

A spiral spring 18 of great strength and resisting power is confined between the bar 16 and an abutment 20 which is a part of the frame 5. A rod 22 is enclosed within the spring 18, the rear end of said rod being secured, as by a cotter pin C to the abutment 20, while the forward end of the rod slides freely through and is guided by a perforation in the bar 16. Accordin ly the spring 18 by being confined between t e abutment 20 and bar 16 offers a resistance to the rearward movement of said bar as the handles 10 and 12 are grasped by an operator and the force which is necessary to compress the spring is that exerted when the handles are grasped, and which must overcome the resistance of the spring in order to permit the handle 12 to move toward the bar 10. Movement of the bar 16 rearwardly to compress the spring is normally prevented by a locking element which may be released by the insertion of a coin of proper denomination into the machine, as will be hereinafter described.

A locking bar 48 is pivoted at 51 to the frame 5, the forward end of said bar being provided with a notch 49 which is arranged to engage the bar 16 as shown in Fig. '3, thereby preventing the rearward movement of the bar and hence the compression of the spring 18. The bar 48, is provided with an upward extension 48, to which is connected by a screw or otherwise a flat spring arm 52, such arm extending substantially at right angles to the bar 48. A bracket 7 extends upwardly from the frame 5, and pivoted to one face of this bracket is a latch 70 provided with a shoulder 71 which is arranged to engage the spring arm 52 when the parts are in locked position as shown in Fig. 5. A kick-off spring 72 is secured at its rear end by a screw 73 to the bracket 7, such'spring being provided with an arm which extends over the latch 70, the spring receiving the rebound of the latch when the same flies upwardly, and in connection with the force of gravity acting to return the latch to normal or locking position.

A bracket 8 extends upwardly from the frame 5, and is provided with a perforation to receive the rear end of a rod 58. which is rigidly secured to the bracket. This rod extends loosely through a hole in the spring arm 52 and thence forwardly through a perforation in a plate 27 which is clamped by nuts 28 to the bar 16. The rod 58 is surrounded by a spiral spring 60 Whigh is confined between the plate 27 and the spring arm 52, so that when the bar 16 is moved rearwardly, compressing the spring 18, the plate 27 acting upon the spring 60 puts said spring under compression, and applies such resilient pressure to the spring arm 52 to rotate the locking bar 48 toward the bar 16, and in position to snap in front of the bar when the pressure upon the latter is released, and lock the parts against further movement. A spring 28, which is herein shown as a leaf spring having one end secured to the inside of the frame 5 by a screw 8 and its free end extending upwardly and acting against the inside edge of the locking bar 48, acts to move said locking bar out of engagement with the bar 16, when tension upon the spring 60 is released.

The latch 7 O is moved to release the parts and permit the operation of the grip-tester through the instrumentality of a coin which may be deposited in the. coin slot 63 communieating with the coin chute 62, which extends down within the casing and immediately over the rear end of a trigger 64, which is pivoted at to the bracket 8. The forward end of this trigger has an angularly extending arm 65 which is located immediately beneath the rear end of the latch, and in position to trip the same when a coin is deposited and falls against the rear arm of the trigger, thus causing the forward arm to rise and engage the latch.

A dial frame 14: is located in the top of the casing 1 and is provided with a dial and with the usual pointer which moves over a scale to denote in pounds the amount of gripping pressure which is exerted through the handle. 12 and is resisted by the spring'18 when the same "is placed under compression. The mechanism for actuating the pointer is sup portedfrom the frame. of the machine by a bracket 46, and. the arm of a lever 32 which is pivoted at 33to a housing 34, carries a toothed segment 35 which engages a pinion fixed to a spindle 38 which latter carries the pointer movable over the dial. A spiral spring 39 is operatively connected with the spindle 38, and moves the pointer to zero on the, dial when pressure upon an arm 40 of the lever 32 is released. The arm 40 extends downwardly so as to be in the path of movement of an upwardly extending edge of the plate 27. Consequently, when said plate is moved rearwardly while the spring 18 is being compressed, engagement between the plate and arm 40 will effect rotation of the pinion which carries the pointer, and will cause said pointer to move over the dial to register in pounds the amount of pressure exerted by the operator.

In the use of the machine, assuming all of the parts to occupy the positions as. shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5 of the drawings, a coin of proper denomination is deposited in the coin slot 63 and falls upon the extending rear end of the trigger 64, thereby causing the latch 7 0 to be raised and releasing the locking bar L8, whose spring 28 will rotate the bar and disengage the same from the bar 16, thus permitting the operator, through. his grip on the handles, to force theba-r 16 rearwardly, compressing the spring 18 to that extent of which his muscular strength is capable and the amount of gripping pressure thus exerted will be registered upon the dial. lVhen the limit of the pressure exerted-through the handles has been reached the operator will release such pressure and the spring 18 will expand, forcing the bar 16 carrying the handle 12 outwardly. hen the bar 16 was advanced, the plate 27 acting upon the spring 60 placed it under compression, the force of such compression being exerted against the spring arm 52 and thus exerting force in a direction to rotate the locking bar 38 into locking engagement with the edge of the bar 16. Such looking engagement will not be permitted, however, until the bar 16 has been returned to a position opposite the. shoulder 49, when immediately the locking bar will snap back of the bar 16. This serves to restore the parts to their normallockedposition, and it is to be observed that the power which is stored in the spring 60 and spring arm 52 during the advance of the bar 16, is suiiicient to restore the locking bar to the position shown in Fig. 3 when the parts are returned to their original positions, but at the same time the tension of the spring 60 is lost, so that said spring no longer acts upon the bar 48. In this position of the parts the force of the spring 28 has been overcome, but as the spring 60 is no longer acting against the spring 28, the latter will be suflicient to throw the locking bar out of locking engagement with the bar 16, as soon as the latch is again tripped by the insertion of a coin into the machine.

The construction as above described permits the unlocking of the machine for use upon the insertion of a proper coin, but the parts are so organized that when once-unlocked and pressure is applied to register the force exerted on the handle 12, when the parts are-returned to a position which, is denoted at zero on the dial, they are locked against a second operatiomuntil another coin has been inserted.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a grip-testing machine the combination of grip resisting means, a handle for operating the same, a locking bar for normally preventing movement 1 of said handle, a spring acting to remove said bar from locking position, an arm directly connected with and projecting at right angles from the rear end of said locking bar, a latch for engaging with and restraining movement of said arm and coin controlled means for operating said latch. Y

2. In a grip-testing device the combination of grip resisting means, a movable handle for operating said means, a locking bar to prevent movement of said handle, a spring for moving said bar out of locking position when permitted, a resilient arm directly connected with and projecting laterally from said locking bar, a latch for engaging said arm, and coin controlled means for operating said latch.

3. A device of the class described comprising a movable handle, a grip resisting spring adapted to be compressed by said handle, a locking bar to prevent the movement of said handle, a resilient arm directly connected with said bar, a latch to engage with or disengage said arm to lock and unlock the same, a spring adapted to be placed under compression during the operation of the gripping handle for restoring the locking bar to normal position, and coin controlled means for operating said latch.

4. A grip-testing machine comprising a movable handle, a spring Whose tension is exerted to resistmovement of said handle, a locking bar to prevent movement of the handle until released,aresilient arm directly connected with said bar, a latch for directly engaging said arm to prevent unlocking movement of the locking bar or to disengage the same, a

spring engaging said arm, and arranged with said arm to be placed under compression during the grip-testing movement of the handle so as to restore the locking bar to normal position, and coin controlled means for operating said latch.

5. In a grip testing machine the combination of fixed and movable handles, a grip resisting spring operatively positioned to be placed under compression upon movement of the movable handle, a locking bar to prevent movement of said handle, a resilient arm directly connected with said bar, a latch for engaging said arm to resist unlocking movement thereof, a perforated plate mounted for movement with movable handle, a rod fixed at one end and having its other end extending through said perforation, a spiral spring confined between said plate and resilient arm and arranged to be placed under compression when the movable handle is operated, coin controlled means for operating said latch, and a spring for moving said locking bar into inoperative position when the compression of said spiral spring is released.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of January, A. D. 1928.

WILLIAM K. EDWARDS. 

